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Journalism of Courage
The Lal Batti Express is set make its way through a juvenile detention centre in Washington DC; Field Museum in Chicago; CBS studios in Los Angeles. All these places in the itinerary are in addition to a sponsored stay at the Hilton, a ride in a limousine and skydiving at Disneyland for the 14 young crew members from Mumbai who will perform on their lives as daughters of commercial sex workers. A hurdle, however, looms.
The girls need to fly to the US immediately as their first play is scheduled on May 14 on Broadway in New York City but they do not have air tickets yet. Earlier too, the girls have struggled — while trying to obtain passports and when they were evicted from a rented accommodation paid for by a local NGO.
The youngest of the lot, 12-year-old Mahek, has already packed her bags, hoping things will fall in place soon. Thrilled about her maiden foreign trip with the troupe, the sixth grader can be seen rehearsing tirelessly at their Andheri home.
Robin Chaurasiya, restless in their 3-BHK rented apartment, runs the NGO helping these girls with education and also facilitating them to be a part of various international programmes. With such an encouraging opportunity knocking on the door, Chaurasiya is leaving no stone unturned.
“All domestic flights, meals, hotels in each city including Hilton, skydiving in Chicago, a visit to Disneyland, boat tours in two cities, tickets to 10 museums, planetariums, aquariums, a ride to the airport in a Hummer Limo, has been sponsored,” says Chaurasiya as she hurriedly makes a call. The girls know there are many more to be made for the 17 tickets they need.
Chaurasiya’s communication with those helping the girls from the US looks promising. Sandhya is 18 and a theatre enthusiast. She could not have been happier as the girls get to watch Broadway’s famous play, Wicked. To round off their excitement, the Wicked actresses have promised to meet the girls backstage on May 15.
The trip means “everything” for Danish Shaikh (16), who had a troubled childhood. “Girls like us end up getting physically and mentally abused most of the time,” she says, calling the trip a “ray of hope”.
If everything goes well, provided they reach the US on time, the month-long trip is sure to keep the girls on their toes. Tara Libert, who runs Free Minds in Washington DC, for young men in prison, has connected the girls to the Juvenile Center where they are slated to perform on May 23. “It would be so awesome if the girls could perform at the women’s unit at the jail along with at the girls section of the juvenile detention facility,” she says.
aamir.khan@expressindia.com
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